Some vehicles include a cabin air filtration system which filters the air that enters the vehicle interior through the vehicle's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. The air filtration system removes particles from the air to help prevent allergens, bacteria, and other harmful or odor-producing materials from being introduced into the cabin. In this way, the air that enters the cabin through the HVAC system is clean.
Some vehicles use passive filters which include filter media positioned in the air flow to trap airborne particles. While these systems help, they are inefficient and require monitoring and replacement. Moreover, when the filter media becomes saturated with removed material, it may be a hazard which introduces material and odors into the cabin.
Other cabin air filtration systems are electronic and may use air handling components to direct air flow through a filter. The filter may use ionization to attract and remove unwanted particles, thereby removing harmful and odor-producing material from the air before introducing it into the cabin. U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,182 (“the '182 Patent”) describes an example of an electronic air filtrations system. Other electronic systems may be standalone parts which are placed in a cabin and filter the air after it has already entered. While these electronic air filtration systems are effective at removing unwanted particles from the air, current designs are less than ideal. In particular, these systems are typically only activated when a user turns them on or plugs them into a power source. For example, the air filtration system in the '182 Patent includes a switch for powering on the system. This means that a user must determine when to turn on the filtration system, which would usually be after unwanted particles have already entered into the cabin. Moreover, this type of system or always-on systems may be left on when air filtration is unnecessary, leading to a waste of energy.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming these and other problems of the prior art.